1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a conductor-connecting construction of a crimp-style terminal, and more particularly to such a crimp-style terminal which can be connected to the conductors in a highly reliable manner.
2. Prior Art
As shown in FIG. 4, a conventional crimp-style terminal of the general type includes a contact portion 1, a conductor-holding portion 2 extending from the contact portion 1, and a sheath-holding portion 3 extending from the conductor-holding portion 2. The conductor-holding portion 2 is in the form of a plate which has a base extending from the contact portion 1, and a pair of clamp arms 2a extending laterally respectively from the opposite sides of the base. The pair of clamp arms 2a are bent upwardly and further curved inwardly at their ends so as to hold or clamp conductors 4 of a wire W. The sheath-holding portion 3 is similar in shape to the conductor-holding portion 2, and has a pair of clamp arms 3a for holding the wire W having a sheath 5.
For electrically connecting the crimp-style terminal to the wire W, the conductors 4 from which the sheath 5 is removed are received in the conductor-holding portion 2, and the wire W having the sheath 5 is received in the sheath-holding portion 3. Then, the pair of clamp arms 2a as well as the pair of clamp arms 3a are pressed by a pair of upper and lower dies 8 and 8', as shown in FIG. 5. As a result, the clamp arms 2a are deformed so as to come into intimate contact with the conductors 4, and even after the dies 8 and 8' are brought out of contact with the clamp arms 2a, the residual resilient force present in the thus deformed clamp arms 2a keeps the clamp arms in contact with the conductors 4.
When the force of contact between the clamp arms 2a and the conductors 4 is insufficient, such contact is inadequate so that the electrical resistance between the conductor-holding portion 2 and the conductors 4 increases to cause adverse effects such as heating and burning. In such a case, also, this connection may be loosened and broken upon application of an external force, which leads to a malfunction of equipment to which the terminal is connected, or stops the operation of such equipment. Therefore, it is necessary to strictly control dimensional accuracies of the conductor-holding portion 2.
Each of the conductors 4 has a generally circular cross-section, and therefore many gaps 6 are formed between the conductor-holding portion 2 and the conductors 4 and also between the conductors 4. As a result, oxide films or the like are formed on the outer surfaces of the conductors 4 and also on the inner surface of the conductor-holding portion 2, and the electrical resistance increases with time, which may result in an imperfect contact. Also, it is possible that such imperfect contact causes heating and burning of the wire (that is, the insulator portion).
To overcome such imperfect contact, it has been proposed to solder the conductor-holding portion and the conductors either by a soldering iron or by dipping them in a bath of molten solder. Such soldering operation is performed on a large scale, and additional time is required.